CEDAR FALLS - A Waterloo man was arrested when a stolen car he was driving rear-ended another vehicle after he failed to stop for police.

Officers with University of Northern Iowa arrested Roger Joseph Hoffert Jr., 34, of 350 Olympic Drive, for second-degree theft and a number of traffic citations Tuesday.

The accident happened at the intersection of University Avenue and Main Street and sent two people in the other vehicle to Covenant Medical Center.

"We got whiplash pretty bad," said Bryce Kinkade, who was treated and released along with his girlfriend.

Officers had been looking for a gold 2000 Chevrolet Impala that was reported stolen from Waterloo when a Cedar Falls police officer spotted the vehicle at about 11:35 p.m. at an unknown location, court records state.

A UNI officer also saw it at 18th Street and Hudson Road and began to follow.

When the officer turned on his flashing lights, the Impala continued on, turned down University Avenue, at one point reaching speeds of 60 mph in a 25 mph zone and almost striking a second UNI squad car, records state.

Meanwhile, Kinkade was stopped on University Avenue near Main Street as Cedar Falls police blocked the intersection in anticipation of the pursuit.

Kinkade didn't see the Impala coming.

"The next thing we know, I hear a squealing sound behind me. We got propelled through the intersection," he said.

His car, a 1997 Mercury Cougar, was totaled.

Hoffert was taken to the Black Hawk County Jail.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.